I still love allowance, sort of

Scott has decided that John needs allowance. Let me tell you, John has no concept of money, never asks for money and never asks for items at the store. Money is just another toy to John. He throws it and rolls it under the kitchen appliances, so as far as I'm concerned, he does not need allowance. Scott just can't wrap his brain around that. John really likes Thomas the Train right now. We were at the store and we saw some Thomas cars and Scott decided that John would really enjoy having some of those. Now, I can't decide whether Scott wants the Thomas cars or if it is really selflessness on his part and would like to see John have something he would really enjoy.

Scott has decided to help John do chores so he can earn money. I think that is really great for John to be learning the importance of helping around the house and it's great for Scott to be learning patience as he teaches him. John does get distracted easily so finishing a task is monumental. Scott is determined! Once again, I can't decide whether Scott just wants John to do his jobs or if this is a selfless act.

Scott also wants John to earn at least three dollars a week so he can get the cars quickly. I think that is WAY excessive. I told Scott one dollar would be plenty and probably too much. He has come up with a payment scale. A small job is worth one dollar, medium worth two and big worth three. What ever job 'type' John does most of during the week determines his pay. Of course Scott ranks the size of the jobs.

So, is this just a great manipulation on Scott's part or is he just a loving brother looking out for John? I would hope it is the latter.

The proper care and feeding of . . . bugs

I hate bugs. Scott loves bugs.

Scott got a bug catching kit and really wanted to catch a bug. His opportunity came up on Saturday. He found a box elder bug and named him Edward. He put grass and water in the container for Edward. Today the Edward wasn't looking so good. Scott thinks he's lonely and needs a friend but box elder bugs are hard to find this time of year.

Scott is obsessed with Edward and checks on him all the time. Sometimes he even shakes the container, really hard, to make sure he is still alive. Scott had me look on the Internet to see what kind of food box elder bugs eat (they eat the juices and leaves of the box elder tree and we don't have one). I told Scott that we don't have the right kind of food for Edward and he may die. However, I assured him we would find another bug if that happened.

If I would have known what a big hit a bug would be I would have gotten bugs instead of pets. That way I would have only been committed for a week at a time instead of 15 to 20 years.

I love/hate it when . . .

I hate it when you read a blog and for a whole week the blogger keeps talking about her sick kids. Almost every post mentions it and you are thinking, "Lady, get over it, kids get sick and I'm tired of hearing about it!" Oh wait, that's my blog . . .

I love it when your 5 loyal readers keep checking in to see if you have ANYTHING ELSE to talk about . . .




I love it when you are determined to lose weight and decide that exercise and watching what you eat are the way to go . . .

I hate it when your plan doesn't work (perhaps it's the fact that you stopped exercising and don't watch what you eat, hmmm) . . .

Modified Camping Trip

Last night while we took Kate to the hospital, my parents took our boys. Since we were so late they made it a sleep over. When Scott woke up this morning he told my mom that sleeping there was just like camping. They got to sleep on the camping mats and when they woke up they could look out the window and it was so peaceful.

That's my kind of camping trip!

She's back

Last night we ended up taking Kate to the hospital for rehydration. She hadn't had a wet diaper for 12 hours and so it was time.

While we were there she asked for a banana. I ran and got her one and she ate half and then she held on to the other half like it was her best friend. She held on to it while they were putting the IV in and she held on to it while she was sleeping. There were several times while she was sleeping that we tried to take it away and of course she would wake up.

Today she is better. How can I tell? She is very feisty and as soon I as got her up she started jabbering and then said RIGHT NOW. She definitely knows what she wants.

I spoke too soon

Last night it happened. Just when I though John was going to escape the flu - wishful thinking!

We went for a drive because I have been home bound since Kate got sick on Sunday and I needed to get out. We made it family outing although I was the only one who went into the store. I had been in the store for several minutes when the Dad comes walking in. Apparently John had just done a throw up cough sound. The Dad thought he threw up but luckily he didn't. That ended the outing because I didn't want to clean the van again.

We went home and got John in bed. He was acting really sick. At 11:30 we checked on him and he had thrown up . . . and was sleeping in it. (Nice visual, huh?) We got everything cleaned up and gave John a bath, which he wasn't thrilled about. He was perfectly happy sleeping in the throw up.

At 4:00 I woke up to an unusually sound and thought John was throwing up again. Don't worry it wasn't John, it was the Dad. Seriously, how do I keep this family well? The Dad just finished up with the flu a week and a half ago.

Both John and the Dad seem to be doing better today so hopefully it was just a quick illness.

I hope all the sickness will be over soon and I certainly hope I don't get it!

What do you do?

I have sick kids, again. I need to know what you do to keep your households well. It seems that we haven't had a 2 week span where everyone has been well for a very long time. 6 months at least. Right now, I have 2 sick kids. Kate is throwing up and has diarrhea. Scott has an ear infection and pink eye. Scott was adamant about not missing school so I took him to the doctor at 9:45 p.m. and didn't get home until 11:00. We did get the first dose of medicine in around midnight so he was able to go to school, tired but able to go. John is the only one who seems to be well most of the time and I've read that autistic kids usually have a compromised immune system. Go figure.

So tell me, what do you do?

I love/hate it when . . .

I love it when you change the kitchen garbage can liner and the garbage can doesn't smell . . .

I hate it when you just aren't thinking and the first thing you throw in the nice smelling garbage can is a pooey diaper and you are too lazy to fish it out . . .



I love it when you do the dishes before bed and the kitchen sink is clean . . .

I hate it when you forget to turn on the dishwasher and the next night you have no clean dishes . . .

I love it when you then use paper plates for dinner and don't have to do the dishes . . .



I hate it when you leave for 6 hours and don't close the garage door . . .

I love it when you get home and you haven't been robbed . . .



I hate it when your baby poos in the bathtub every time you bathe her in the morning . . .

I love it when you realize she doesn't poo if you give her an evening bath . . .

I hate it when you continue to give morning baths despite your discovery . . .



I love it when Spring arrives . . .

I hate it when the mice are back in your house when Spring arrives . . .

I really like lasagna

Warning: This is a emotionally charged post and is somewhat ridiculous. I realize that I should wait until I calm down before I post this or not even post at all but too bad, I'm posting.

My mom asked me to bring lasagna for dinner with my family at my parents house tonight. My mom bought a Stouffer's lasagna (which I do not like) but we needed more than one pan to feed the whole family.

My husband was working so at dinnertime it was just me getting food for my kids and me. I got everyone all settled and started feeding Kate. I was able to take a few bites of food in between feeding Kate and getting things for the boys. Kate wasn't eating well and it soon became apparent why. She started to throw up. It wasn't much at first but it did get all over her. Before I could get up she was throwing up again, and again, and again and this time I got covered really well. I took her to the bathroom to clean her up and got her in the bathtub. I went to get my food that I had only had a few bites of so I could eat in the bathroom and it was GONE. My food was gone. Someone had thrown it away. HELLO!!!! The plate was almost full. I was MAD. I was helping my sick child and my food got thrown away. My mom suggested that I just get a new plate but the only food left was the disgusting Stouffer's lasagna and green beans. No salad, no fruit and no bread. I was saving my lasagna and bread for last because they were the best. I can't believe I spent all that time making lasagna and then I only got a few bites. I had a little (or not so little) tantrum. I realize that whoever threw away my plate didn't do it on purpose and I should have just let it go but I let my emotions get the best of me. So, that was ridiculous, I'll admit it.

The story actually gets better. Kate was acting much better after she threw up and wanted some cake so I gave it to her. On the drive home I gave her a sippy of water because she really wanted it. As we were driving in the driveway she started throwing up again. I wish she could have waited just a few more minutes, we were in the driveway!!! It sounded like a small amount but then the flood gates opened up and she threw up all over the van. It was projectile vomiting. Once again, as I was quickly trying to get her out of the van she threw up on me.

Let me tell you, I stink, I stink like throw up and I'm hungry. I want lasagna.

The credits are his favorite part

We went and saw Nim's Island today. The boys did well, Kate not so well. When the movie was over and people started to leave, we were not among that group. We had to wait, and wait, and wait. John with his sensory issues LOVES the scrolling credits. It's the best part of the movie for him and we can't leave until the very last credit has rolled or it's tantrum city.

Problems with Praying

We have a problem at our house. A praying problem. John LOVES to say the prayer on the food, every night. If someone else does it, it doesn't matter he has to pray too. He used to pray so quietly we would have to open our eyes so we could see when he was done. After much persuasion, he finally prays louder but the problem is voice he uses - kind of sounds like Elmo. Take a listen:




Usually it's more deliberate and higher. A couple of nights ago I just couldn't take it and cracked up during the middle of the prayer.

Food Storage Recipe

I have another recipe that I really like. It uses some of those beans that I canned. It's easy . . . and it doesn't take very long to make, which makes it great!!

Stuffed Green Peppers

1 pkg Spanish Rice and ingredients to make it
Green Peppers
1 lb hamburger
1 c corn
1 c black or pinto beans
cheese

Make rice according to directions on package.
Brown hamburger. Add rice, corn and beans. (You can use as much or as little corn and beans as you would like.)
Cut the tops off of green peppers and clean out the inside. Boil peppers for 5 minutes.
Put peppers in casserole dish. Fill with hamburger/rice mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted. Approx. 20 mins.


This dish can be made without the peppers. I don't make peppers for my kids, it would just be wasted food. I do think the peppers add a good flavor.

Yea!!! I'm finally a size 1

Wow! you may say. You may think I was serious about going on the fast track diet and exercise plan. I really bought a size 1 pair of pants . . . for me . . . today. Ok I bought them at Lane Bryant. I'll admit it I shopped at LB today.

I just have to tell you about the pants though. They have a new sizing system for some of their pants (you're probably thinking "Yea they do, size 1?"). The pants are cut to fit your shape. The pants I got were for people with larger bottoms than tops. They also have pants for people with larger middles. The pants I wear right now have to be cinched up tightly with a belt because they don't fit my waist however they do fit my hips just right. I kept thinking I will lose weight and then get smaller pants but 1 to 2 pounds a week is taking a long time and I am very uncomfortable in my pants. The pants I bought today actually fit without a belt. I'm so excited!!

I don't remember the last time I wore a size 1. In fact I think I skipped size 1 and jumped to size 5. I think LB changed their sizing so overweight people would feel good about shopping there. Well, it worked!!! I can now say I wear the smallest size they have at the store. I just won't mention which store.

By the way, before I asked for an explanation on the sizing I kept thinking:

"These pants do not look like a size 1,"

and

"If I ever saw a size 1 woman come into this store, I'd have to beat her up."

I love/hate it when . . .

I love it when you get a puppy potty trained . . .

I hate it when your puppy grows up, is an 8 year old dog and poos on the carpet . . .



I hate it when your kids get sick, really sick (and drive you crazy) . . .

I love it when they get better and go back to school . . .



I hate it when all 3 of your phones end up in the same place, and 2 of them are dead . . .

I love it when you can hand the dead phone to your baby without wondering who she will call . . .

Dog up for grabs

Charlie is driving me CRAZY!!!

I'm trying to remember why I wanted a dog. They are so much work!

Here is a list of pros and cons for Charlie:

Pros

1. He loves me, even when I get mad at him.
2. He cleans up the floor if any food drops.
3. He and the cat get along.
4. The kids love him and can maul him and he doesn't get mad.

That was a short list.

Cons

1. He loves me, even when I get mad at him. He wants to sit on me and lay on me and be right by me.
2. He cleans up the kids, licks their faces and open mouths, jumps on them when they have food and even takes food right out of their hands.
3. He interacts with the cat a little too much. He humps him all the time and the cat lets him.
4. He eats the cat food even though he is blocked from doing so he finds a way to get in.
5. He is fat (they say that a dog and it's owner look the same, go figure).
6. He poos on the lawn and the neighbors lawn.
7. He stinks, not just take a bath stink, his ears stink and his breath. YUK.
8. He barks, all the time. Any unusual sound, no matter how quite, he barks.
9. He freaks out if the doorbell rings.
10. He snores, LOUD.
11. He sheds tons . . . all over the place.
12. I have to find a dog sitter when we go on vacation. (Who wants to tend a dog who snores, stinks, sheds and barks all the time?)

So, if anyone wants a pug, let me know. I looked up pug's lifespan - 10 to 15 years. Charlie is 8 so a minimum of 2, maximum of 7.

Yeah, in thinking about it I could never give up Charlie. Seriously, look at that face. He was my first child. I could never give him away and I will be very sad when he dies. However, even if my kids beg and plead, please remind me that I DO NOT want another dog after he is gone.

What do rotten burritos smell like?

Scott has been sick this week, really sick with the flu, the real flu. I really didn't know what the flu was until this week. He has had a fever, headache, sore throat, cough, stomach cramps, throw-up and major muscle pain just to name a few symptoms. It started last Saturday and I think he is finally close to normal. I just have to say having a sick child is hard. I went from very compassionate to very impatient as the week progressed. I am certainly ready for him to be better. The dad now has the flu and I hope no one else in our household gets it.

So, yesterday Scott had a burrito for lunch. He then started complaining that the house smelled like rotten burritos. What does a rotten burrito smell like? I could not figure out what he was talking about. Today he was still complaining about the smell. I told him to brush his teeth and his tongue to see if it was his breath. Not his breath. He said he could smell it in the car too.

Tonight he smelled his hands and he thinks that's where the offensive odor is coming from. I have to say, he is a compulsive hand washer so it must be our soap. We have rotten burrito soap at our house.

You have been warned!

What to do with food storage?

My story used to be: I went to the cannery and canned things that have sat in my storage waiting for when I needed them. Maybe that's your story too, maybe not. Now I have made a conscious effort to use what I have. I have canned my pinto beans and make refried beans with them (my husband thinks the store canned ones taste like dirt). I have to say that I'm still experimenting with refried recipes but I think I've almost got a good, simple recipe.

I have found a great recipe that uses wheat, powdered milk and honey and I have to share. You don't even need a wheat grinder for this recipe just a blender (not a mixer, a blender). By the way the cannery powdered milk is nasty if you just want to drink it as milk.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 c wheat
1 c water
1/3 c powdered milk

2 eggs
2 T honey or sugar
2 T oil
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Blend wheat, water and powdered milk (1 c milk can be substituted for powdered milk and water) for 3 - 4 minutes until smooth. Add eggs, honey or sugar, oil baking powder and salt. Blend well.

My kids actually really like these pancakes and eat them for snacks.

Wheat is better than white and as you may know . . . we can use all the fiber we can get at our house.

I love allowance

Scott's allowance that is. I started giving him an allowance this year and tying it to chores. All the information on allowance that I found said not to do that because allowance is supposed to teach money management and chores should be about being part of the family and helping. While I do agree with that and have had my kids help around the house just for being part of the family, allowance has doubled if not tripled the amount of work that Scott does. And that has cut down on the amount of work I have to do . . . and I give him the chores I don't particularly care for.

He gathers all the garbage cans and I empty them then he puts them back. He empties the dishwasher. He gets the mail. He sorts the dirty clothes. He does most of these things without complaint too. If he doesn't want to do something I have told him to get John to do it, so he does. John doesn't understand money and just likes to throw it around so he just does chores because Scott makes him think they are fun!! That's great manipulation if I've ever seen it!!!

Really, Scott is a good kid and allowance is a good thing!!!

It Drives Me Crazy

Why is it that babies love to play with phones . . . real phones . . . and they know the difference between the toy phones and real phones?

It drives me crazy when I get a phone call from someone's baby who is playing with the phone.

Kate has found two items that she uses as a phone. Nice. One is the Pampered Chef Clock/Timer (it beeps when she pushes the buttons) and the Pampered Chef Adjustable Measuring Spoon (I don't get that one).

Thank you Pampered Chef!!!

We're All Just Hanging Out

The baby and the dishwasher

There once was a baby who loved to play in the dishwasher. Every time her mom opened it, the baby could sense it and she would run over to "help" her mom. Once day her mom came up with a clever plan. She gave the baby the empty silverware tray and 8 spoons. The baby played with them for 30 minutes while her mom joyfully emptied and filled the dishwasher (minus the silverware tray). Pretty clever mom, huh!!!

A Friendly Advertisement by Scott . . . Again

Tonight it was about Aqua Globes.

We were eating dinner and Scott started talking about the plant I have on the table.

Scott: Do you know about Aqua Globes?

Me: No

Scott: They are globes you put in your plants and they water your plants for you. Then you don't forget.

Me: Interesting

Scott: They come in four colors - multi, red, blue, green. I think you get four for $14.95.

Thanks Scott. I guess the plant is looking kind of sad.

Social Issues

Most autistic kids have social issues and John is no exception. I say this all the time . . . sometimes he just doesn't understand. Tonight that was clear.

My sister came over and our kids were playing together. At the end of the evening she told her daughter it was time to go and to give Scott and John a hug and a kiss. She was a bit shy about doing this but John wasn't. He thought he was leaving and was trying to hug and kiss Scott. Scott was squirming like you wouldn't believe! He did NOT want a kiss or hug from John.

My sister's daughter didn't want to do hugs and kisses so she told her to do it again and of course John was hugging and kissing Scott . . . again. Oh boy!!

Another similar post

I did a word cloud for my blog to see what words I use most frequently in my blog. It wasn't such a surprise to see that "poo" and "pee" were right up. I have tried to steer clear of elimination posts for the last few weeks and I have been contemplating all day whether or not to post my experience in the last 24 hours. As you may have guessed by now, I decided to post. Here it goes:

I got a call from John's school towards the end of the day yesterday saying that he had thrown up and did I want to pick him up or should they send him home on the bus. His school is 30 minutes away and I wouldn't make it by the time school was over so I opted for the bus ride. Apparently, there is a rule with the bus - no sick kids. So after school was over they called again telling me I had to pick him up. I scrambled and made it there 45 minutes after school was over and he seemed fine. They did say that he had cried several times in the last 2 days for no reason that they could find.

We decided to get a haircut for Scott so we stopped at Cookie Cutters. John wears underwear to school but I didn't want to take a chance so I put a pull-up on him while we were there because he wouldn't go to the bathroom.

After the haircut we went to my husband's work. He has been working a ton lately and hadn't seen the boys since Sunday morning. We decided to go out to eat, which was a risky move, but before we could leave, I noticed a pretty bad smell. I checked it out and sure enough, John had pooed. I only had one pull-up so I put his underwear back on.

At the restaurant he started looking quite pale and I thought he might throw up. After several minutes I decided it was time to go to the bathroom just in case. He stopped just as we got in the bathroom and I knew he was starting to go. We got in the stall and I pulled his pants down and he was going. He pooed and peed but wasn't situated right and ended up peeing all over his underwear, pants, socks and shoes. Luckily I had his backpack and it had a pair of pants and underwear in it - or so I thought.

The backpack only had a pair of pants in it and I didn't have another pull-up and I knew he wouldn't go commando but I did have a diaper for Kate. A size 3 diaper for a size 6 diaper boy. It was all I had so I put it on. He had crack showing like you wouldn't believe but it worked.

We made it through dinner and headed home. When we got home John laid on the couch and wasn't looking too good. He started grunting and I hoped the size 3 diaper would hold up. He produced a large quantity and the diaper came through. I started putting 2 and 2 together. He didn't eat breakfast for two days, cried at school for two days, had 3 bms (2 quite significant) in less than 4 hours, he probably had horrible cramping!!

We all went to bed and at midnight Scott came out of his room saying "Mommy, Mommy!!" I thought for sure John had thrown up but Scott just needed to go to the bathroom and sometimes gets disoriented. He couldn't figure out where the bathroom was. He took care of business and I went in his bedroom to tuck him in. The smell that permeated the room was nauseating!!! I wanted to check John just to make sure he wasn't running a fever. I felt his pj's and they were soaked, but don't worry he didn't have a fever and it wasn't sweat. His diaper was also full. I wanted to wake him up and change his sheets, give him a bath and take care of the diaper but I opted against it. He's such a good sleeper.

This morning when I changed his diaper, I was pretty disgusted. I'm surprised the size 6 diaper held it all in. I was almost gaging as I was changing him. His room was so stinky. I changed his sheets, opened the window and sprayed Lysol but when Scott got home from school he still made a comment about the house being smelly. I washed his sheets and they still were stinky too. I had to wash them several times.

He had 2 more bms today and terrible gas. I checked his pull up just as he was letting one rip and got a nose-full and checked another time and got a finger-full of poo. Fun huh? I wish he could understanding that pooing is natural and nothing to be scared of.

So, a recap:

6 bms in all in the last 18 hours!! No wonder he threw up! He was holding his poo for 2 days, probably had horrible cramping and some type of virus on top of that. I don't think he is done yet but it's not as bad as when it first started. I just want him to get it all out!!!

You know you are tired when . . .

Today at about 5:00 it hit me. I was tired, really tired, so tired I thought I might fall asleep reading Scott a book tired, so tired that if I had to drive I would be a danger to others on the road tired.

At 5:18 I sent Scott downstairs to play with John and Kate hoping I would be able to rest for at least 15 minutes before I made dinner. Yea right.

At 5:25 I woke up. Kate needed something and the amazing thing was I felt refreshed, like I had a really good nap. I, of course, tried to sleep for another 30 minutes but I couldn't, too many interruptions.

It's good to know that 7 minutes really can make a difference, however, even with this knowledge, the self indulgent 2 hour naps that I take on occasion are still going to happen.

Why settle for 7 minutes when you can have 120.